


FruBa AU: Yin-Yang and Wu Xing

by wujinxian



Category: Fruits Basket, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Fruits Basket au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-26
Updated: 2016-03-15
Packaged: 2018-05-23 07:15:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6109137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wujinxian/pseuds/wujinxian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Marinette Dupain-Cheng was born, her father held her for the first time and she turned into a small ladybug. It was then her parents discovered that she could never be held by someone of the opposite gender. Somehow, the young girl got through school without being discovered - or worse: squashed - and, thankfully, the only boy she was ever interested in was far out of reach. But she's fifteen now, and, as everyone knows, that's when everything starts to change. </p>
<p>Adrien Agreste doesn't remember much about his mother before she left, but he would like to think that she loved him very much. After years of trying to convince his father, he's finally going to public school for the first time. He just can't let any female hug him – how hard can that be?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Genesis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya gives Marinette a mysterious present. Adrien finally convinces his father to let him attend public school.

"Marinette! Alya's here!" her mother yelled up the trapdoor. Marinette acknowledged her and quickly ran down to the bakery. She squealed when she saw her friend and practically skipped over to her. Aware of her friend's strange aversion to physical contact, Alya opened her arms to offer a hug, which Marinette eagerly jumped into. 

"Sometimes you're like a scared rabbit," Alya giggled. "Here, look what I got for you." Now an arm's length away, Marinette looked at the funny black box in Alya's hands and poked it curiously, eliciting another laugh from her friend. She took the teardrop shaped box into her hands and opened it, finding a pair of onyx black earrings that just seemed to call her name. 

"Wow, Alya, they're beautiful! But I can't accept these, it's too much," Marinette tore her eyes away from the glistening gems. It almost hurt her to say no. 

"Just count this as an early birthday present."

"Alya. This is enough for three, maybe five, birthdays."

"Chill, girl, it didn't cost that much! But if you like it that much I might just take you up on that offer..." Alya joked and Marinette swatted her friend on the shoulder. After finally being convinced, Marinette took the tiny jade studs out of her ears and replaced them with the circular black ones. Putting them on felt like coming home. She couldn't imagine a better feeling. Except maybe hugging her father. 

"They're perfect," Marinette cooed as she admired herself in Alya's hand mirror. "It's like they were meant for me."

"That's exactly what I was thinking when I found them. Apparently, they're one of a kind. The guy I bought them from told me that they're handmade and imbued with good luck." 

'Luck, huh?' thought Marinette. She could certainly use some luck. 

———————————————

Adrien laid on his bed waiting for his father to come home. He groaned as he recalled the events of that afternoon. He'd done it again – hugged Nathalie, that is. The poor woman had dealt with his transformations so many times the past few years. She had lasted the longest of all his father's assistants after his mother's disappearance. He was sure that his father was grateful the woman had the heart to deal with the strange boy that turned into a cat with a single hug. Adrien knew he was grateful for her: she was the only person who showed him even a shred of affection. Which might've been why he was always hugging her on accident. 

He heard his father's car drive up and waited for the double slamming of doors. He counted down the minutes until his father would come in his room. Right now, his father had probably just walked into the house. Nathalie would greet him, pale-faced. They would chat quietly about the "situation" that occurred. His father would either get angry or sigh. Adrien winced. This would probably hurt his chances at convincing his father to let him go to public school. Now, his father was probably mounting the staircase, heading up to Adrien's loft room. His stomach clenched in anticipation and the minutes stretched out painfully long, each one seeming longer than the last. 'Good thing I haven't had dinner yet,' he thought bitterly.

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally heard the knock on his door. His stomach clenched even tighter. He forced permission for his father to enter through a dry and closed throat. The austere man opened the door and took a seat in Adrien's desk chair.

"Would you like to tell me what happened with Nathalie today?" his father asked formally. 

"I hugged her. I transformed. She hugged me and I transformed back," Adrien answered with an equally cold voice. 'Can't he just talk to me like his son instead of a business client?'

"And yet, you want to go to public school where there are plenty of girls itching to get close to supermodel Adrien Agreste. What do you think would happen if you transformed while at school?" his father sighed. Adrien had lost count of the number of times his father asked him that question. 

"One day, I'm going to go into the real world. I need to learn how to deal with this now. You can't protect me forever." Adrien sat up and stared at his father. After a few moments, his father finally broke down and sighed. 

"You're right, Adrien," he conceded. "Nathalie has been telling me the same thing. Here, I got this for you." He pulled a box out of his pocket and handed it to the boy. Adrien held it in his hand and examined it carefully. It was white and in a shape was best described as a teardrop. He glanced at his father, wondering if accepting the unusual present came with a catch. Noticing his son's doubting gaze, Gabriel Agreste explained his intentions behind the gift. "A man came to my office today with one of the clients I was working with and gave this to me. He said I would know who it was for. Normally, I don't believe in all that superstitious stuff but it did seem perfect for you. I decided to enroll you in public school after receiving that."

"Wait, so I am going to public school?" Adrien asked in disbelief. Years of begging, pleading, arguing all boiled down to a gift from a stranger. He wasn't sure if he should be excited that he was finally going to go to public school or angry that something so small could change his father's mind. He decided to figure out what was in the strange box first. Inside was a white ring made of onyx. The whisperings that filled his head once he set eyes on the ring drowned out the sound of his father's affirmation. He plucked the ring out of the box and put it on his right ring finger. Suddenly the voices stopped and he felt at peace for the first time in his life. 

The smile that spread across Adrien's face surprised Gabriel. The last time he saw Adrien smile like that was before Mrs. Agreste left. The hug that followed shocked him even more. He couldn't even remember the last time Adrien hugged him. He awkwardly patted his son on the back and cleared his throat.

"School starts in a few days. Make sure you're ready." He got up to leave the room but was stopped by his son calling his name. "Yes, Adrien?"

"Thanks."

———————————————

"What's going on, Marinette? Why are you so nervous?" Alya asked her from her beanbag on the floor. She watched the blue-haired girl pace back and forth in the bedroom. Alya always admired Marinette's bedroom. She loved the beanbag pile in one corner of the room, Marinette's sewing station in another corner, and her desk in another. The large TV on one side of the room waited in anticipation to be used for video games or movies or whatever else the girls had planned for their sleepover that night. When Marinette finally paused, Alya brought her attention back to her.

"I need to tell you something." Alya raised her eyebrow, encouraging her to continue. "Well, first, I need to ask you something." Alya patiently waited, knowing that pushing her friend could very easily make her close herself off again. Marinette wrung her hands. Her nervousness was starting to rub off on Alya. "We're at the age when boys and girls start to have... feelings for each other, right?"

"Yes," Alya began. "But people could like people of the same gender. And I already know you have a crush on Adrien." Marinette blushed a little at the mention of his name.

"Right, right," Marinette said thoughtfully. "So when people have feelings for each other, they... hug, right?"

"Yes... Marinette, what are you getting at?"

"I don't want boys to hug me. I didn't have to worry about before because they all thought we had cooties or something but now... I'm just feeling so anxious."

"Well, just tell people you don't want to be hugged. They should hopefully back off then."

"It's not that simple, Alya..." Marinette collapsed in a beanbag beside her friend. 

"What was the thing you needed to tell me?" Alya asked gently, worried about her. She had never seen the girl look so hopeless.

"Well, I told my mom I might need to tell you this so you could help me out at school in case anything goes wrong. I had to wait until she said it was okay." Alya waited again, wondering what secret Marinette could be keeping from her especially since she was so bad with them. "When I get hugged by a boy, I turn into a ladybug." The words rushed out of Marinette's mouth, almost too fast for Alya to hear and definitely too fast for her to comprehend.

"You what now?" Marinette groaned and pulled her friend towards the trapdoor. The pair went down to the living room where Tom and Sabine Dupain-Cheng sat relaxing after a long day at the bakery. 

"Dad, I need you to hug me," Marinette said. Tom looked at his wife and then at Marinette and Alya and back. Sabine nodded to him. He reluctantly rose from the couch and knelt in front of his daughter.

"Are you sure?" he asked her, a tinge of sadness in his voice. Marinette nodded, feigning confidence. Her father took a deep breath and drew the girl into his arms. With a poof, she disappeared. Alya could feel full panic mode threatening to take over until she saw a ladybug land on her nose.

"What?" she gasped. Tom took the ladybug into his hands and with another poof Marinette was in his arms. He let her down gently and she thanked him. Alya stared at her friend in disbelief. "What just happened?"

"You just saw why I can't be hugged by any guys at school." 

'Tonight's going to be a long night,' Alya thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I am waiting for more information to be released about the other Kwamis to keep writing this. I'm also not sure if I will be writing action sequences/steamy scenes yet... Mostly because I'm not very good at writing those. At all. (⌒_⌒;)


	2. Revelation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Secrets get revealed.

"You're sure not even a side hug is okay?" Alya asked for the umpteenth time.

"Yes. Even a frontal collision, no arms required, is enough," Marinette sighed. 

"And you're sure there are not other cases?"

"Well, I guess there was this one time I when I was sick... Apparently, I was in and out a lot. Not that I remember it," she finally recalled. "But we don't have to worry about that. I haven't gotten sick since then."

"We hope so." Alya's voice trailed off and Marinette was finding it harder and harder to listen to their conversation. Ever since they entered the school a weird humming noise filled her head. As they approached their classroom, it only got stronger and stronger. The pair took their seats and Marinette continued to respond noncommittally to her friend. The buzzing finally stopped when Mme. Bustier asked for the class's attention.

"Good morning, students. Today, we have a new friend joining us. His name is Adrien. Adrien, is there anything you would like to say to the class?"

"Um... Hi, everyone. Yes, I'm Adrien Agreste, the model and son of Gabriel Agreste," the blond-haired boy said shyly. "I just have one request: please, no physical contact. I, um, really like my personal space. Thank you." Mme. Bustier showed Adrien to his new seat, directly in front of Marinette. 

"Just like you, huh?" Alya whispered in her ear. "You two have got to be the strangest French people I know." Marinette hissed her name, eliciting a giggle from the brown-haired girl, and they both returned their attention to the lecture at hand. 

———————————————

Marinette sighed and finished writing her notes as the bell signaled the beginning of lunch period. 'Major life lessons (epiphanies) can serve as a turning point, often symbolized by the metaphorical resurrection of a character.' 

"What should we do for lunch? We could go to the cafe by my house or we could go steal a loaf of bread from your parents?" Alya winked and Marinette rolled her eyes. 

"Make another Les Misérables reference and I might actually kill you. Maybe we should go to my place? It's closer and my parents want to thank you for helping me out at school."

"Sure, let's go then! I can't say no to free food!" Alya said. 

Or that's what Marinette would've heard if her ears hadn't suddenly started ringing. Her vision filled with white and the next thing she knew, she was standing in between Chloé and Adrien. And hugging Chloé.

"Um, Marinette. What do you think you're doing?" the mayor's daughter asked as she stepped away from her and crossed her arms. Marinette tried to quickly assess the situation, stealing a glance back at Alya, who was gaping at her. 

"Um, well... you see...," Marinette wracked her brain. "Adrien said he didn't want physical contact with anyone... Yea, that's right. And I saw you go in for a hug. So I thought I would help him out. Right. I hope that's okay, Adrien?" 

She quickly turned to the boy and suddenly realized she was much too close to him for comfort. It took all her strength not to jump away from him like he had the plague. 

"Yea, thanks. I really appreciate it. That's the second time you've saved me since we met," he chuckled awkwardly as the surprise on his face melted into relief. Marinette blushed. "I heard you and... Alya, I think her name was, planning to go to your parents' bakery for lunch? Do you mind if I join you?" 

Marinette didn't think it was possible but Alya's jaw dropped even further than it already was. She spluttered out an agreement and a bright smile appeared on the boy's face.

"Give us a few moments, Adrien. We're just going to use the restroom real quick and then we'll be off," Alya said as she grabbed Marinette's hand and dragged her away. 

"Okay, spill. What was that?" Alya questioned her after quickly checking no one else was with them.

"I don't know!" Marinette paced. "One second I was talking to you, the next I was being hugged by Chloé! I don't even remember moving!" 

"If I hadn't seen it myself, I would say you teleported. The way you moved, how fast you moved... it was inhuman. I guess we're just lucky pretty much everyone in the classroom had left."

"I messed up, I messed up!" Marinette wailed. 

"No, you didn't," Alya said sternly and grabbed her friend's flailing arms. "I don't know what happened, but we'll figure it out. Besides, Adrien is pretty grateful towards you," Alya added with a wink.

Marinette felt something resembling relief wash over her. Her anxiety wasn't completely gone but having a friend like Alya who was in on her secret certainly made dealing with this a lot easier. 

"We're going to go back to the classroom and take Adrien with us to lunch. Then, after school today, you're going to tell me all about the first time you saved Adrien Agreste if I don't figure it out from him myself. Got it?" Marinette nodded and Alya drew her in for a hug. 

"Everything will be alright. Promise."

———————————————

"So, Adrien Agreste, famous model. What's up, bro?" the bespectacled boy sitting next to him asked. Adrien turned towards him and was greeted with a fist hanging in the air. He looked upwards and back at his classmate.

"The ceiling?" he responded, not quite sure what the other boy was asking. 

"Oh, man! Haven't heard that one in years!" he laughed. "Name's Nino. Was asking you 'what's new, what's going on,' something like that. And this-," he gestured to his fist, "-is called a fist bump. You tap yours to mine like so." Nino demonstrated with his other hand. "You said you didn't like physical contact, so figured this would be the best way to ease you in if you wanted."

"Thanks," Adrien smiled back at him. "So, like this?" He finally reciprocated. 

"Yea! Just like that. Was gonna ask if you wanted to grab lunch with me, but looks like you're going out with Marinette and Alya?" 

"Yea-"

"Why do you want to spend time with a loser like Marinette anyways? You should be spending time with someone who's actually in your league, like me," Chloé scoffed. 

"That's not very nice, Chloé," Nino said, a frown on his face. 

"Well, it's true. The whole time we've known her she's refused to be close to anyone except that four-eyed wannabe journalist just because she doesn't like physical contact. I'm telling you, that girl's a freak. It's not like she's an American or an Asian. She's French!"

"Technically, half-French, half-Chinese. But thanks for noticing, Chloé," a clipped voice cut in and all three heads turned towards its owner. "And just because I don't like to be touched doesn't make me weird. If I'm a freak, aren't you calling Adrien one too? He's in the same situation as I am." Adrien gulped. He hoped she wasn't in the same situation as he was - he wouldn't wish this curse on anyone. 

"Adrien is a model. He probably just wants to avoid a scandal. Isn't that right, sweetie?" Chloé batted her eyelashes at him and he tried to scoot away from her as he half-heartedly agreed. 

"Oh, would you look at the time! If we don't get going soon, we're all going to miss out on lunch!" Alya exclaimed. "We should really get going! Adrien, Nino, did you want to come with us?" They both nodded enthusiastically and shot out of their chairs after Marinette and Alya. 

———————————————

"Thanks for the save, beautiful," Nino said and wrapped his arm around Alya's shoulders as they left the school. She laughed and pushed him off. 

"Is lunch period really that short?" Adrien asked worriedly. 

"Nah, I just wanted to get Marinette and Chloé away from each other. The tension between them could've started a fire!"

"Well, she doesn't have to be so mean all the time," Marinette pouted. Adrien resisted the urge to place his hand on her shoulder. 

'She doesn't like physical contact,' he reminded himself. 

"So, Adrien, how do you know Marinette and her parents' bakery?" Alya asked him and held out an imaginary microphone. 

"Ah, well, I ran away to the park one day and it started raining. I hadn't eaten anything all day and was on the verge of collapse from the hunger and the cold when she found me. She ran to get her dad and they took care of me in the bakery until I was feeling better and the rain stopped." 'Good thing she found me when she did otherwise I would've been a cat stuck in the rain,' he thought. 

"And Marinette, your first impression of him was...?" Alya turned the microphone to her. Marinette groaned the other girl's name and a red crept across her face. Alya laughed playfully in response.

"Behave, guys," Marinette said as she opened the door to the bakery. "Don't make a mess of my parents' place."

"Always!" Nino and Alya chorused as they ran in the bakery and announced their arrival. Adrien thanked Marinette as he walked through the door and she followed after him.

———————————————

"Okay, lunch for everyone!" Marinette's mother said as she put down food for everyone at the counter they were all sitting at. The four teenagers hastily thanked her and Adrien looked around the kitchen and living room. Last time he was here, he was too exhausted to observe anything. It was neat and small, yet cozy - somehow the exact opposite of his own house though his house was pristine, not neat. He could sense the love and warmth that flowed through the household. He could see it in the homemade blankets on the couch and the trinkets probably made by Marinette when she was younger. 

"Dude, Marinette, what you did in school earlier was so cool! Didn't know you had it in you to do something like that!" 

Alya and Marinette nearly choked at his words. They started making subtle gestures which Nino apparently took as encouragement and attracted Adrien's attention. 

"Thought you were going to go in for a hug yourself, Mari! That would've been bold!" he winked at her. 

The sound of a glass shattering stole everyone's attention. They all turned and saw Marinette's mother standing behind them with a shocked look on her face.

"You did what, Mari?" 

"Nothing, Maman, nothing!" Marinette panicked and Alya stomped fiercely on Nino's foot under the table. Nino yelped and stammered out an apology. 

Her mother started chattering quickly in Chinese. She spoke too quickly for Adrien to understand everything but he caught the word "transform" and his eyes grew wide. 

'Transform into what?' he pondered. He could interject and pretend he understood the whole exchange to get more information. One glance at Marinette's face and he decided.

"Duìbuqǐ," he said calmly. "But Marinette did nothing wrong. She was just trying to help me out." Her mother got a shocked look on her face, clearly not expecting anyone other than herself and Marinette to understand what she said. 

"Adrien, I like you," she started. "But what could you possibly understand about our family affairs?" 

Adrien looked around at the other faces in the room. Nino was confused. Alya and Marinette seemed to be in on something together. And her mother was still staring sternly at him. 

"I know what it's like to keep a secret for years. I know what it's like to be afraid that someone will find out that secret. Whatever secret Marinette and your family have, I can protect too." He got up and stood before Marinette. Her eyes told him she was scared and confused but that she trusted him. When had he earned such trust? 

"Marinette, you don't have to tell me your secret. But one thing I've learned is that I'm going to need help to protect mine, just like you did today. Will you continue to help me?" She nodded hesitantly and he breathed a sigh of relief. 

"This is my secret," he said and drew the bright-eyed girl in for a hug as he closed his eyes. He vaguely heard the other women in the room gasp. 

He opened his eyes, expecting everything to look different. The counter was still in relatively the same place and the kitchen hadn't changed colors. He voiced his confusion and looked at the girl in arms, the shock on her face mirroring his own. He hastily moved back, keeping her at an arm's length.

"So, your secret is that you like Marinette?" Nino asked incredulously. Adrien laughed awkwardly and agreed with him. "Dude, no worries! Your secret is safe with me, too! But, hey, guys, I gotta run. Mme. Mendeleiev asked me to go back to school early and help prep for class. Thanks for the meal, Mme. Cheng! See you guys in class!" Nino quickly ran downstairs and out of the bakery while the remaining people in the room tried to process what exactly happened.

"Marinette, you didn't... you know," Alya whispered but the other girl was still frozen in place. 

"Adrien, what is your secret?" Marinette's mother inquired, seemingly the first to find both her tongue and her senses.

"When I hug girls, I turn into a cat. I don't know why it's not working this time..."

"Like this?" Marinette's mother wrapped her arms around him and suddenly, he was being cradled gently by her. Realizing he was in his cat form, he could only mewl his affirmation. 

Marinette screamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chloé makes a dig at Americans and Asians which was not meant to be insulting to my fellow Americans, Asians, and Asian-Americans. In France, people are a lot more friendly and physical than both parties - they even greet by kissing on the cheeks. Americans very much like their personal space with the traditional greeting being a handshake or a hug for people who are more familiar. This desire to respect personal space is why many European countries consider us loud: We speak louder to each other because we have more space in between us when we converse. Traditionally, Asians have even more aversion towards physical affection with little to no PDA at all, though of course it depends on your country specifically. For example, [in Vietnam,] married people weren't even supposed to show affection towards each other unless it was behind the closed door of their bedroom. [In Japan,] A very, very old way of proposing was to say "I would love to eat this every day for the rest of my life!"
> 
> Glossary:  
> duìbuqǐ [Chinese] - I'm sorry, excuse me


End file.
